MANILA, Philippines – This gas-slip giving “Pa” from the Philippine National Police is now officially in trouble.
A policeman assigned to Camp Crame has been relieved from his post after a photograph of two gas slips, which went viral on social media, were traced back to him.
The non-commissioned officer has been temporarily removed from his designation as of Monday, the PNP spokesperson, Chief Supt. Generoso Cerbo Jr., said.
In a press briefing in Camp Crame, the official declined to identify the policeman, assigned to the Internal Affairs Office.
“Dir. Alexander Roldan, the head of the IAS (Internal Affairs Service), has ordered an investigation into the matter. He has talked to the policeman concerned as well,” Cerbo said.
Last week, the photograph of two gas slips went viral on Facebook after it was shared by a netizen with the caption, “Gas supply in PH. Thanks Pa.”
The PNP traced the source using the serial numbers indicated on the gas slips.
Gas slips are allocations issued by the PNP to officials or policemen, supposedly for official use only in performance of their functions as policemen.
However, some apparently find their way to civilians, who receive gas slips from policemen.
The policeman who allegedly issued the gas slips holds the rank of Senior Police Officer 4 (SPO4) and has been in the PNP for 30 years. The policeman is reportedly assigned with the logistics unit of the IAS, which conducts investigations on policemen for administrative offenses.
The Facebook post was shared by Top Gear Philippines and earned mixed reactions from netizens. Some criticized the misuse of government funds, while others defended the use of gas slips, which were supposedly “benefits” of uniformed personnel.
Cerbo conceded that while the PNP has been issuing gas slips even to non-commissioned officers, this should not be abused by PNP personnel.
“This is supposed to be for official use only. Just because you are entitled, it doesn’t mean that you can abuse it,” he pointed out.
Cerbo said the policeman would be investigated, which might mean an administrative case of misconduct as well as criminal charges of misappropriation of funds.
The PNP is still checking if the gas slips were used at the PNP Central Gas Station inside Camp Crame. Each gas slip has an allocation of 10 liters.
Gas slips are supposed to be for official use only or for official movements using PNP vehicles or private vehicles.
Each office has a gas allocation every month which is budgeted. But in some cases, some operating units run out of gas allocations, forcing policemen going on operations to shoulder the cost.
Civilians, except for non-uniformed personnel with the PNP, are not allowed to use gas slips.
Cerbo said the investigation would be accompanied by a review of the usage of gas slips in PNP offices to determine if corrective amendments would have to be made.
Before, the PNP used fleet cards of gas companies in ensuring the steady gas supply of their vehicles.
Cerbo assured that there would be no conflict of interest since the IAS, an internal investigation body of the PNP, would investigate one of their own.
“They will be professional enough, they can cleanse their ranks… I can speak from experience that this is an isolated incident. The PNP’s gas allocations are not that big for some units,” he added.